Founding year: the first Independence post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Independence’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Independence is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Independence’s overall grade.
Wisconsin towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Wisconsin town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Independence’s 6.8 sits above most of its state (69% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Independence’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Unless otherwise noted, the history below is taken from a local historical album published for the city's centennial in 1976.
Independence is in the Town of Burnside, which corresponds with one of the townships created under the Land Ordinance of 1785. Shortly after the naming of Burnside in 1863, settlers from Europe and the Eastern United States began arriving in significant numbers.
in 1856 settled near the mouth of Elk Creek, and here he has since continued to be a leading citizen. George H. Markham was the first town clerk of the town of Burnside, which then included the present territory of the village of Independence and the town of Chimney Rock, and served as treasurer of the town of Burnside and later as treasurer of the village from its incorporation in 1886 for 30 years or more. He represented Trempealeau County in the Assembly during the 1879 session of the State Legislature and also served his town as member of the county board when the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Trempealeau County, Wisconsin1917 · page 242Read the page →
Read the text
Independence had its beginning in 1876, and received its name from the fact that the Centennial celebration of American Independence fell on that year. The agitation for a village at this point started in 1873, when it became certain that the Green Bay & Lake Pepin, now the Green Bay & Western, was to build a railroad down Trempealeau Valley, and a proposition was made that the town of Burnside aid the company by voting bonds of $20,000. But at a special election held for that purpose, May 3, 1873, the result was 9 for and 93 against the proposition, with one vote deficient.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Independence, 1876 to 1902
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The Independence post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Independence rank for history?
Independence is more historic than 69% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Independence?
One place: the Independence City Hall (listed 2002).
How old are the homes in Independence?
31% of Independence’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.9 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1969.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (3), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1909
1909
2023
2005